You need the following in order to work with Tableau:
Tableau Version 8.2
Windows Live login ID and password
Microsoft Excel
Internet access
Users only need to download the Tableau Public client. The technical specifications for Tableau Public mirror those of Tableau Desktop Personal and are listed on the Tableau website at http://www.tableau.com/products/desktop.
According to Tableau system requirements, PC users require the following minimum specifications:
Microsoft Windows Vista SP2 or newer (32-bit and 64-bit)
Microsoft Server 2008 R2 or newer (32-bit and 64-bit)
Intel Pentium 4 or AMD Opteron processor or newer (SSE2 or newer required)